Leader 2 Leader

  By: Kyle Dresback, Associate Superintendent for Student Support Services, St. Johns County Schools Over the last twenty months, it has been hard on educators. Whether you are the bus driver, food service worker, teacher, principal, or district administrator, we have all gone through challenging times. However, one thing to remember is so have our students and families. Education is a very complex business. We do not make “widgets” or manufacture items. Most mission statements include creating students who will be positive contributing members of society. To that end, education requires that principals need to see the value of people. When I was the principal at a high school, I would ask my faculty and staff to close their eyes and think about their favorite teacher. I would wait a minute then ask them to open their eyes. I then asked, “Tell me your favorite teacher’s best lesson plan, content of the lesson, differentiation for the class needs, etc.” No hands would go up and...

 Sharon Michalik Director of Communications, Bay District Schools There’s an old adage that if you don’t tell your own story, someone will tell it for you and nowhere does that ring truer than in education today. School systems are often the target for community vitriol and criticism and while that’s draining, and unfortunate, there are some things that savvy school leaders can do to mitigate the damage and get ahead of those who seek to divide us. At Bay District Schools, we run four very active social media platforms and are approaching 29,000 followers on Facebook … no easy feat for a district with 25,000 students. About 75 percent of our followers are in the 29-52 age demographic so we’re confident we’re reaching a large chunk of our parents and guardians using this platform. It’s worth noting that our Facebook platform had only 3,000 followers four years ago so our exponential increase in followers tells us we’re doing something right! Additionally, we’ve leveraged the...

  By: Adam Lane, Principal, Haines City High School A school is only as strong as its community and a community is only as strong as its school! I want to thank the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) Four Corners Woman's Club for having me as their guest speaker, but also for their dedication to community improvement, volunteer services, and supporting my high school students in need of clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies. https://gfwcfourcorners.org There was always a need for basic school supplies on our campus, but the more we got to know our kids, the more we discovered the additional needs they have. The school staff and community clubs came together to make a positive impact. This initiative began by identifying the exact needs and then supplying the resources and materials necessary to meet those needs. It’s all about students first. Your community school must serve as a home away from home and a support system, and part of that commitment is making ...

 By: Cynthia L. Johnson As the number of teachers that leave a school increases, the struggle to recruit highly-qualified teachers also increases. At the same time, the quality of the teacher workforce decreases, negatively impacting student achievement.1 Nearly half of all teachers that enter education today will leave within the first five years of teaching. Those that teach in low-socioeconomic schools are twice as likely to leave. This continuous revolving door is detrimental to students, staff, and education as a whole. The study, Phenomenological Study: Recruitment and Retention of Highly Qualified Teachers in North Florida Title I Elementary Schools by Cynthia Johnson, reviewed literature regarding the background of teacher attrition and conducted a qualitative analysis on the best practices of principals of high-performing Title I schools in their efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. Through principal and teacher interviews, the study found a positive r...